International Foodservice Manufacturers Association
Names Top Distributors in Foodservice

The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA)
announced the winners of the 8th Annual Distributor Awards. The prestigious
awards acknowledge distributor leadership and overall excellence
within the foodservice industry.

"Strong distributor partnerships are paramount for
operator success in the foodservice industry," says Larry
Oberkfell, president and CEO of IFMA. "This year's Distributor
Award recipients are among the best in the business and we are
proud to honor them."

2014 IFMA Distributor Award recipients:

Gordon
Food Service receives the IFMA Excellence in Distribution
Award. This award recognizes a corporate or independent
distribution organization that has demonstrated excellence in the
categories of management and leadership, customer relations,
supplier relations and industry/community contributions. Gordon
Food Service started out as a butter-and-egg delivery business more
than a century ago. Today, they are the largest family-owned
broadline foodservice distributor in North America-and one of the
largest privately held companies in the United States. Gordon
Foodservice was nominated by the Par-Way Tryson
Company.

Reinhart
Foodservice is awarded the IFMA Distributor Sales & Marketing
Performance Award, which recognizes a single independent
distributor or an individual operating company of a distributor
with multiple locations that has demonstrated successful planning
and execution of creative sales and marketing. At close to the half
century mark, Reinhart Foodservice has grown from its first 8,000
square foot distribution center in La Crosse, Wisconsin to become
the 5th largest foodservice distributor in the country. Reinhart
Foodservice was nominated by Schreiber Foods and Sugar Foods
Corporation.

Malcolm
Sullivan, CEO, Pate Dawson Company is named winner of IFMA's
Distinguished Industry Achievement Award, which recognizes
an individual who has brought about positive change in the
foodservice distribution community and has been a pioneer in the
areas of management, marketing and operations. Much like the
company he leads, Pate Dawson, Malcolm Sullivan demonstrates great
leadership, continuous improvement, willingness to embrace change
for betterment and superior execution. These values guide his
leadership and relationships with trading partners.

The awards will be presented Tuesday, November 4, 2014 during
the IFMA/IFDA Presidents Conference, at JW Marriott Desert Ridge
Resort in Phoenix, Arizona and is sponsored by J.R. Simplot
Company,

IFMA is a leading trade association comprised of the world's
most prestigious food, equipment and supply manufacturers in the
$600 billion foodservice industry, as well as related marketing
service organizations, trade publications, distributors and
brokers. IFMA's mission is to serve as a business partner to its
members by bringing them relevant, actionable services that are
fundamental to their business assessment, planning and execution.
For more information, visit ifmaworld.com. Follow IFMA on Twitter
@IFMAWORLD or join our group on LinkedIn.

The IFMA Chain Operators EXchange (COEX) enables chain operators to take advantage of business building insights and create personal connections with leading manufacturers. With dozens of high-profile operators on the planning committee, the program truly is created "by operators, for operators."

Consumers have become more knowledgeable about the food they
eat, and are increasingly interested in doing business with
companies in all industries, including foodservice, who share their
values and are part of their community. They also care a great deal
about experiences and value. Therefore, creating demand in the
future will still be about the basics of food, service, and
cleanliness, but will increasingly be about experiences and
choices.

Given the accelerated shift to perimeter departments within
grocery and convenience stores, retailers are allocating more space
and resources to grow profits from foodservice sales. The
opportunities for manufacturers to secure growth in this channel
are prospering, hear more from Jason Whitmer, President of
Cleveland Research Company at Presidents Conference in November.

We are honored to announce the winners
of the 2012 IFMA Distributor Awards: Nicholas & Company; Cheney
Brothers; Mike Roach (Ben E. Keith Foods). They represent
excellence in the distributor community and will be recognized
at the IFMA/IFDA Presidents Conference 2012.

Atlanta, GA (October 23, 2015) - Bruce Kern II, President of C.A. Curtze Food Service of Erie, PA and Chairman of the Board of UniPro Foodservice, Inc., announced the appointment of Robert Stewart as UniPro’s CEO. The announcement was made last week to its membership at UniPro’s Fall Purchasing Conference in Atlantic City, NJ. Stewart joined UniPro in 2014 as the company’s COO and has been serving as interim CEO since April 2015.

Every month, IFMA's Small & Midsized Business (SMB) community hosts a discussion with industry experts, trading partners or operator customers. In May, John Koncki, Director of R&D at CKE Restaurants, joined the SMB community call, discussing how small and midsized businesses can work with the restaurant chain.

Occasions that drive consumer choice, retaining quality
employees and capital investment are areas of focus to the benefit
of the foodservice industry. These insights, and others, are the
subject of a recent article penned by TDn2K Chairman and Founder
Wally Doolin. He will be addressing similar issues as moderator of
the Closing Keynote Panel at Presidents Conference, which features
executives from top operator brands and their reactions to insights
conveyed during the conference.

One of the foodservice industry's most dynamic executive leaders
today is Steve DeSutter, who joined FOCUS Brands, Inc. as their
president and CEO in March. Mr. DeSutter will be delivering the
opening keynote address at Presidents Conference this November,
which is the place where foodservice leaders come to address
critical issues affecting our industry. His presentation will
address how consumer experiences with operator brands are a key
area of focus that leads to success.

Expert lineup announced. If you are a marketing
and sales professional interested in new collaboration methods,
fresh data and insights and best practices, bring your team to the
Marketing & Sales Leaders Forum!